TIL thermal paste isn't always the answer for old CPU overheating

I spent 3 hours last weekend repasting an old i5-2500K thinking that was the fix. Temps barely dropped 2 degrees. Then I noticed the CPU cooler mounting bracket was cracked on one corner. Replaced the whole bracket from a $8 part on Amazon and now it runs 15 degrees cooler. Anyone else ever waste time chasing the wrong fix?

3 comments

3 Comments

harperp2417d ago

Old brackets crack way more often than people check.

green.iris17d ago

Old brackets crack way more often than people check." That lines up with what I read in a trucking forum a while back. A guy posted photos of his hitch that looked fine on the surface but had a crack running almost the whole way across the bottom. Said he only found it by taking a wire brush to the paint.

jessem5917d ago

Had a buddy last year whose old bracket just gave out while he was driving down a bumpy road. Bam, whole hitch dropped and the trailer swung sideways. Scared the hell out of him and nearly caused a wreck. He checked it after and said the metal had like a hairline crack that got bigger over time until it snapped. Ever had something like that happen to someone you know?